rom his French upbringing working as a butcher’s son, Roland Mouret mastered the art of a good cut – a skill that has undeniably led him to become one the most iconic designers in the fashion industry today. “Everyone has the assumption that I am Saville Row trained”, says Roland, “In fact I am a Saville Row butcher”. Roland claims that he “learnt life before fashion”, and it wasn’t until the age of 36 that he set his sights on becoming a fashion designer in London by the time he reached 40. Mouret’s career in the fashion industry itself started in 1979, when he enrolled in a Parisian fashion college. However, this was short lived as he quickly abandoned academia deciding it was more important to gain life experience. It wasn’t until 1994 that Mouret moved to London and designed for a label called People Corporation. Although the label was short lived, his designs were positively received, which gave him the confi dence to design under his own name. In February 1998 Mouret presented his fi rst collection during London Fashion Week. T e entire collection was handmade without the use of patterns for

“Women tend to think clothes are sexier than themselves, but this is the opposite. Clothes are a tool”.

Cutting Edge

T e leader of the demi-couture movement, the

creator of the infamous Galaxy dress and one of the greatest modern designers of our time, Roland Mouret chats to Joanne Mottram about his new autumn winter collection and his fascinating career in fashion

the simple reason that he did not know how. His goal was to embrace the female form and so he constructed the collection by folding and draping fabrics on the body held together by hat pins and stud fasteners. “Every time I drape I start from a square of material and then contrast the square with the female form”, Roland explains. In 2000, Mouret entered into a partnership with Sharai and Andre Meyers doing business under the name Roland Mouret Designs Ltd. He became identifi ed as a leader of the Demi-Couture movement and received critical acclaim due to his use of draping and sharp tailoring that seamlessly entwined the contradictory traits of minimalism and femininity. T e partnership lasted fi ve years before Mouret resigned from the company. He went on to introduce the fashion world to the now ubiquitous Galaxy dress, which had celebrities clamouring to get their hands on it. Everyone from Cameron Diaz and Demi Moore to Scarlet Johansson and Victoria Beckham owned a Galaxy dress which was described by critics as “the most recognizable dress of the last decade”. Mouret explains that